The Trial of Peter Pettigrew
by RoseStone27140
Summary: AU, which picks up where "When Four Became Three" leaves off. The day has come in which Peter Pettigrew must answer for his actions.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed "When Four Becomes Three." This story picks up where that one leaves off.

On another note, I'm not entirely sure that "upchucking" is a word that two British wizards in their early twenties would say in 1981, but it seemed like a word that Sirius would use.

Hope you enjoy!

I own nothing.

As a Gryffindor, Lily Potter had thought that she had known the Marauders well. Honestly, they didn't seem that hard to figure out. They were always so loud and obnoxious that no one thought that there was anything deep below the surface. But Lily, like so many others had simply been an observer. It was not until she had started going out with James in their seventh year that she really began to understand the four friends.

James, who had once been solely an arrogant toerag, turned out to be an extremely loyal, if still somewhat arrogant, friend. He was the leader of the group, which didn't surprise Lily. But what did surprise her was the way that he went out of his way to make sure his friends were taken care of. He didn't care that his best friends were from one of the darkest wizarding families or a werewolf or an awkward outcast. He accepted the other three exactly as they were, and in turn, they gravitated towards him like a magnet.

Sirius, she discovered, was an exceptional actor. He put up a womanizing, could-not-care-less front up for the school to see, but when he was with the Marauders, his feelings rested closer to the surface. Sure, he was still incredibly arrogant; he had a tendency to think that the world revolved around him. But underneath that, Lily could see evidence of a boy who had never been loved by his family.

Remus had been Lily's friend since first year. They had been the only ones, it seemed like, who cared enough to actually study and do their schoolwork. She had thought him incredibly shy at first, but he had opened up as she got to know him more. But she began to see a side of him that she hadn't known existed; when he was around the other Marauders his face lit up in a spectacular way. It was if all the stresses in his life had fallen away.

The only Marauder that Lily had had a hard time understanding was Peter. To the rest of the school, he was the poor, lonely boy that the more popular boys had had pity on. The other Marauders included him, but still Peter just did not seem to fit in. Even though Lily knew that James cared about Peter, it bothered her how he treated the smallest Marauder. She had confronted James about it one day.

_"What do you mean?" James asked as the two patrolled the quiet hallways one night._

_ "I mean that you treat Peter differently. You poke fun at him. You are supposed to be his friend, but you… well, you bully him." While James' actions towards Peter weren't as severe as his actions towards Severus, Lily still cringed at the similarities._

_ James stopped and stared incredulously at his girlfriend._

_ "You- you think we bully Peter?"  
Lily nodded hesitantly._

_ James thought for a moment before continuing the patrol. "We don't, you know."_

_ "But you-"_

_ "I'm not denying that we make fun of him," James cut in. "Because we do. But we do that to everybody. It's just what me and Sirius do."_

_ "You don't make fun of Remus," Lily said quietly. It was something else that had been bothering her about the boys, the way they treated one friend differently than the other._

_ James chuckled. "Oh no, we do make fun of Remus. He's just better at giving it back to us."_

_ Lily raised a skeptical eyebrow._

_ "All right," James took a deep breath. "You may not remember this, Lily. Or maybe you never noticed it in the first place, but when we first got to Hogwarts, Remus was… awkward."_

_ "Awkward? That's not very nice, James! I remember him being quiet, but never awkward!"_

_ "Well, that's probably because you weren't with him 24/7. You know that he was bitten when he was four, right?"_

_ Lily nodded. She had suspected Remus of being a werewolf for a long time, but he hadn't told her the whole story until last year. It saddened her to think that her friend had been suffering for so long._

_ "We were his first friends," James continued quietly. "Ever since he was bitten, his parents have been really paranoid about people finding out. Not that they don't have reason to be. Remus doesn't talk about it much, but he's hinted at some things… and, well, let's just say it's not pretty when people _do _find out._

_ "Anyway, so his parents didn't really let him be with kids his own age. He mainly just stayed inside or near his house. He spent most of his time with his mum. So when he got to Hogwarts, he had no idea how to act around us. It was like rooming with an adult trapped in a kid's body. Sirius and I had a theory that Remus was actually a grown man who had come into contact with one of those de-aging potions that changes your body but not your mind, and he was being forced to relive his entire life." James laughed. "Ask Sirius about it sometime; he still thinks that it might be possible."_

_ Lily couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Trust Sirius Black to come up with something like that._

_ "What does this have to do with anything, James?"_

_ "Oh right, back on track," James said with a wink. "So, Sirius and I were really good friends right from the start, but we had no idea what to do with Remus. He was so quiet and polite. And then one morning, he said something really quiet. You know how he kind of mumbles and mutters sometimes? Well, he did that, and I don't even remember what he said exactly, but it was hilarious. Really sarcastic. And Sirius and I just cracked up. And we knew that we had to keep him around._

_ "But it was weird, because he had no social skills. He was so uptight about everything; it took us forever to loosen him up. Sirius and I would make jokes to him or about him, and sometimes, he would just look at us like he had no idea what we were talking about. Or he would take us seriously. But he never retaliated, not at first._

_ "It wasn't until the start of our second year that Remus started making fun of us too. He was really tentative about it, like he was afraid he was going to lose our friendship if he did. Which is probably exactly what he thought. But eventually, he realized that we were going to stick by him no matter what and we wanted him to joke around with us._

_ "And look at him now! He makes fun of us all the time. If Sirius or I poke fun at him, he gives it right back to us."_

_ As Lily thought about it, she realized that James was right. Sirius and James did treat Remus the same way they treated Peter. But something still felt different. She voiced her thoughts to James._

_ He paused for a moment before responding. "I think that it's different with Peter because he just takes all the crap we throw at him. He doesn't really respond in any way. I mean, he'll join in when we're doing something to someone else, but when we make fun of him, most of the time he just sits there."_

_ "But don't you think that's mean?"_

_ "Maybe," James said thoughtfully. "But I guess Sirius and I keep doing it because we are waiting for the day that he does respond in some way. I guess we are hoping that someday we will make him as comfortable around us as Remus is."_

_ "What if that day never comes, James?" Lily asked quietly. James looked troubled for a moment before shrugging._

That day had never come for the Marauders.

They had graduated from Hogwarts and gone out into the real world. So many things had stayed the same. James and Sirius still poked fun at each other, Remus, and Peter; Remus still responded; and Peter still didn't. Peter just sat there, hero-worshipping James and Sirius, content to be on the sidelines while the others got the glory.

Or so they had thought.

It saddened Lily, the state of the Marauders these days. They had been so strong during their time at school, but the war had damaged them, straining their friendship. Paranoia and suspicion had slowly crept in and tainted them. James and Sirius still had a brotherly bond that nothing could break. But where did that leave the other two?

For some reason that Lily still couldn't understand, Sirius had never questioned Peter's loyal. Maybe he had simply underestimated him. Or maybe Sirius had thrived on Peter's adoration. Either way, Sirius had chosen Peter over Remus.

Lily knew that the Sirius felt incredibly guilty for doubting Remus. James did too, even though he had not fully committed to the idea of Remus being the traitor. But that was behind them. The three remaining Marauders had talked. It hadn't been an easy thing to do, but finally, they had reached a point where all was forgiven. There was still trust to be restored, but it was a start.

But the first real test for the Marauders' newly reformed friendship would come today. They had been dreading it; it had been a taboo topic the past week. Everyone was loath to bring it up. Yet, like it always seemed to work, time moved too quickly. And before anyone was ready, the day had come.

The day of the trial of Peter Pettigrew.

* * *

The morning of November 11th came swiftly and quietly. Not that Lily had really expected differently. But it seemed like such a momentous day should arrive with more noise. If only it was momentous for a better reason.

Lily had been with James for four years, married for two. In that time, she had come to know the Marauders well. So, their reactions to Peter's betrayal did not surprise her.

Remus was quiet about it. He had always been more of an introspective person, and he was true to form in this situation. Lily could tell when he was thinking about Peter because he would get an unbearably sad look on his face, but he never wanted to talk about it.

Sirius was bursting with the famous Black anger. He would stalk around the safe house, sometimes muttering under his breath and sometimes screaming at the top of his lungs. Lily was fairly sure that if James had not been present to restrain him, Sirius would have hunted Peter down and killed him. Lily had tried to reason with him, but she hadn't had much luck. The only thing that had calmed Sirius down had been James' presence.

James was the exact opposite of Remus. While Remus didn't want to talk about it, James didn't want to stop talking about it. It had taken a few days to accept what had happened, but when it had finally sunk in, James had been obsessed. The first night that Remus had joined them at the safe house, James had kept Lily up all night, talking.

_I don't get it. Why'd he do it, Lils? How could Peter betray us like this? We were his friends, weren't we?_

As much as Lily dreaded Peter's trial, she was also looking forward to it. Looking forward to getting some answers, some resolution, and putting this whole thing behind them. She had hoped that, after today, life could return to normal for the Marauders.

But first, they had to get through the trial.

As Lily entered the sitting room of their safe house, she held Harry close. This would be the first time since Voldemort's attack on them that she and Harry would be leaving the safe house. James and Sirius had been going on daily walks down the beach, and Remus had been going to meet with Dumbledore, but she and Harry had stayed within the confines of the Fidelius Charm. There had been parties celebrating Voldemort's defeat and a ceremony awarding James, Lily, and Sirius (but not Remus, because of his condition, which upset the others greatly) Orders of Merlin, First Class. But they hadn't attended any of those. There had still been Death Eaters at large, and Dumbledore had cautioned them about exposing themselves to an attack.

But the Death Eater threat had been diminished with the arrest of the Lestranges. And the remaining Marauders would not miss Peter's trial. Especially since James was testifying against him.

Lily sat down in a chair across from the couch, upon which sat James, Sirius, and Remus. They were all in various states of distress. Sirius looked ready to murder someone. His normally handsome features were twisted into a scowl. Lily wasn't quite sure how he was going to sit through the trial if he didn't calm down.

Remus looked queasy, although this probably had more to do with the fact that it was a full moon tonight. When he had woken up with a slight fever, James and Sirius had urged him to stay behind.

_You'll do yourself no favors by going, Moony. It'll just make it worse._

_ Yeah, and what if you start upchucking in the middle of the trial, huh? That'll be a sight._

But Remus was adamant.

_I'm going. I have to go. I'll be fine. And if I do start upchucking, I'll make sure to aim for someone other than you, Padfoot._

Secretly, Lily agreed with James and Sirius. Remus didn't need to be at the trial, and if he wanted to watch it later, they could always borrow Dumbledore's pensieve. But the look on the werewolf's face told her that no matter what argument they put forth, he was going to go.

If possible, however, James looked more nauseated than Remus did. Out of all the Marauders, it had been James who had been chosen to testify against Peter. It made the most sense, really. Remus' and Sirius' testimonies would have been discounted because of his condition and because of his family. Besides, it had been James that Peter had almost gotten killed. And Lily had wanted no part in testifying.

Lily knew that James wanted answers, but a part of him was also rebelling at the idea of sending his friend to jail.

_I know it doesn't make sense. He almost killed us. And I'm madder at him than I've ever been at anybody. But he was my friend for so long that it still feels like some sort of betrayal._

It seemed as though James' loyalty to his friends was causing him still to hang onto some part of his friendship with Peter. Lily prayed that this wouldn't interfere with justice. She didn't want to see Peter killed or Kissed by Dementors, but she did want to see him punished. He had almost killed her baby. That wasn't something that she took lightly.

Lily held Harry tightly to her body. She didn't really want to take him to the trial, but she didn't want to be parted from him either. Looking up at the clock above the fireplace, she sighed.

"I think we had better go," Lily said softly, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

James sighed as the three Marauders stood. Remus swayed slightly, and James and Sirius reached out to grab him.

"I'm fine," Remus said shortly. He continued when he saw James and Sirius open their mouths. "And before you say it, I'm going to the trial. I'll be fine."

James and Sirius shared a skeptical look before shrugging.

"Suit yourself, Moons," Sirius said. "But if I have to catch you mid-swoon, you're never going to hear the end of it."

Remus shoved Sirius' shoulder. "Right, just like I won't let you ever forget about that time-"

Sirius' hand shot out and covered Remus' mouth. "You promised not to _ever_ bring that up _ever _again."

Remus' eyebrow rose, and Lily and James shared a confused look.

"What's he talking about, Pads?" James asked as Sirius' hand dropped back to his side and the four adults moved towards the front door.

"Nothing, Prongs. Forget he ever said anything." It wasn't everyday that Sirius looked as uncomfortable as he did now. And that made Lily wonder what Remus knew.

"I'll tell you later," Remus whispered to James with a smirk on his face.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief that things were going back to normal for the Marauders. The days since Peter's betrayal had been strained, but finally it seemed as though they were finding their easy rhythm once again.

"I hate that we have to apparate with Harry," James said as they reached the apparition point. The Floo Network had been disconnected from the same house, just like their house in Godric's Hollow. To get to the Ministry, they had to apparate to the visitor's entrance. It wasn't ideal, but it was their only way to get to the trial.

"I don't either, but I trust you not to splinch us," Lily said with a smile to her husband.

"No pressure there, Prongsie," Sirius said, laughing.

"Great. Thanks, Pads." James smiled and hugged Lily and Harry close. "Ready?"

"As I'm ever going to be."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So, finally, we get to the actual trial. In my opinion, Peter is a difficult character because in the books, we don't really get a chance to see why he did the things that he did. In this story, I've tried to explain what his motives might have been. Thanks for reading!

Standard disclaimer applies.

Peter Pettigrew had never been much of a planner. At school, he had let his friends plan their pranks or adventures. Sirius and James would come up with rough ideas, and Remus would hammer out all the finer details. But Peter had thought that his plan was foolproof.

Nobody seemed to suspect that he was the traitor. Little Peter was too dumb, too dim, too spineless to ever think of betraying his friends. But the others knew there was a traitor. Sirius, especially, had become suspicious. So Peter sought a diversion.

_Moony has been distant lately, hasn't he? He's acting weird. He's missed a lot of meetings too, did you notice? I wonder where he's been. Has he talked to you about what he's been doing? _

It was the little things, Peter knew. These little comments whispered into Sirius' ear that built up over time until they had amassed to something much larger. Because Peter was not as dumb as everybody thought.

He made Sirius as suspicious of Remus as he possibly could. He felt guilt, momentarily, about doing that to Remus. Of the Marauders, the werewolf had been the first to befriend Peter, the one to defend his place in the group. Really, he had been the nicest of the three. But Peter had needed a scapegoat. And what better scapegoat was there than a werewolf who had been distancing himself from the group.

Peter knew that his plan was going brilliantly when Sirius had urged him to agree to be the Potters' Secret Keeper.

_Nobody would suspect you, Wormy, and everybody's going to suspect me. You'll do it, won't you? We trust you._

So the Fidelius Charm was cast. Peter shared the secret with Sirius, and he wrote down the secret for Remus and Dumbledore, imitating Sirius' writing perfectly. And then he retreated to his apartment. He agonized for a few days about his decision.

Guilt threatened to overwhelm him, because he knew what the fate of the Potters' would be after he shared the secret with Voldemort. They would die.

But Peter had started down this path, and it was too late to turn back now. Withholding the secret from Voldemort would result in his own death. And the reason he had joined Voldemort's side in the first place had been self-preservation.

At one time, he had had so much faith in the Marauders' ability to protect him. When James and Sirius and Remus had stood up for him against the bullies at Hogwarts, Peter had been willing to promise his undying loyalty to his friends. And when the others had joined the Order of the Phoenix, Peter followed willingly. But then the war progressed and he saw people die. His friends couldn't protect him. _We're going to lose this,_ he thought. He was a Gryffindor, but he was scared to die. He wasn't the sort to rush headlong into battle. And he did not want to be on the losing side.

The idealized image that he had had of his "friends" fell away. He hadn't minded when they had made fun of him in school because they had included him. Without them, he would not have had friends. But looking back, Peter's affection towards the other three had slowly fallen away. They didn't value him; they never had. He meant so little to them, so they came to mean so little to him. And when Death Eaters had come to recruit him, he hadn't even tried to resist.

With the goal of saving himself firmly planted in his mind, he went to Voldemort with his secret.

_Excellent, Wormtail._

Peter flinched every time Voldemort used his despised nickname. Before, it had been a way for him to fit in, to be one of the cool kids with a cool name. But really, there was nothing cool about being associated with a worm.

_Come Halloween, the Potters will not be a problem anymore._ Voldemort's words chilled Peter.

So it had been Halloween that was supposed to be his former friends' downfall. How ironic. The last day in October used to symbolize a time of great celebration and fun for the boys. Now, it would symbolize their ruination.

But Peter's plan was not finished. Dumbledore and Remus would think that Sirius had betrayed the Potters, but Sirius himself would know better. And after seven years of sharing a room with him, Peter was well aware of Sirius' temper. Peter doubted that Sirius would go to Dumbledore with the truth.

_No, he'll be too mad. He'll see red and come after me with a vengeance._

But Sirius would be no match for Voldemort, surely. Peter had been counting on the fact that his loyalty to the Dark Lord would ensure his safety against his former friend. And once the Dark Lord had taken control of England, it would not matter that Peter had betrayed the Potters. Because he had chosen the right side in the end.

Peter thought that his plan was perfect. Flawless. No room for error. He never imagined that Remus and Sirius would be at the Potters' house on Halloween. Never imagined that Voldemort would be defeated. But in the blink of an eye, it happened, and Peter's brilliant, flawless plan fell apart.

_Act natural_, he told himself. _Act like you are celebrating too._ He couldn't leave England, not just yet. It would look suspicious, like he was running away. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. If he could just lie low for a few days, then he could leave. But he hadn't counted on the Aurors finding him so quickly.

He was walking down Diagon Alley when suddenly he found himself surrounded. He panicked, a million thoughts flitting through his mind.

_No. It's not supposed to happen like this. I'm supposed to get away._ And so his mind searched for an escape route, a way for self-preservation.

It wasn't ideal. Peter had always been hesitant to kill anyone, but in that moment, the will to survive surpassed his hesitancy.

With a well-placed spell, Peter hit a part of the street with an exploding spell. As people screamed and dust filled the air, he turned to run, but before he could transform into a rat, he felt a spell hit him square in the back, and he fell. The Aurors rushed in.

Peter now sat in a holding cell in the Ministry, awaiting his trial. If only he could transform, he could escape. But the cell blocked him from doing any sort of magic. And despair filled him.

Peter kept reliving the last two weeks in his mind. Sharing the secret with Voldemort. Seeing the ruined house in Godric's Hollow. Planning how to evade Sirius. Being surrounded by the Aurors. Killing all those people.

He forced his mind to move away from those troubling thoughts. His trial was today, ten o'clock to be exact. He had to prepare himself. He forced himself to repeat the argument that he had been planning.

_He used the Imperius Curse on me. I had no idea what I was doing. I would never betray my friends. I'm loyal. Surely, you wouldn't hold this against me when I didn't know what I was doing._

To Peter, it seemed like a good argument. He had seen some of Voldemort's followers who had actually been Imperiused. They had absolutely no control over their actions. This was his only shot.

* * *

As Peter was led into the courtroom, a wave of nervous nausea hit him. He had never been skilled at speaking in front of people, had never been the center of attention. Yet, here he was, with the entirety of the Wizengamot staring at him.

Peter shifted uneasily, trying not to search the crowd for familiar faces. For they wouldn't help him today. The Minister pounded his gavel and made an opening statement, but Peter wasn't listening. He focused on taking deep breaths and calming his pounding heart.

"Pettigrew, what have you to say for yourself?" The Minister finally asked.

Peter took another deep breath and made his argument. There was no point in denying what he had done. But perhaps if he could shift the blame off of himself…

The Wizengamot murmured amongst themselves. It seemed as though some were considering this to be a valid argument.

"So you do not deny your involvement with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Do you deny that you have the Dark Mark?" The Minister asked.

Peter noticed that he was starting to sweat, but he could not reach up to wipe it off his forehead. His hands were chained to the chair. "I do have the Dark Mark, but it was forced on me. Because of the Imperius Curse."

Once again, the Wizengamot talked amongst themselves. What Peter had said was completely untrue. The Dark Mark could not be given to an unwilling recipient, but he was counting on the fact that the Wizengamot did not know that.

"It would be impossible for us to tell now whether Pettigrew was under the Imperius Curse, but I do have one question before bringing up a witness." The Minister stared him down. "If your actions as a Death Eater were because of said curse, how do you explain your actions in Diagon Alley? When you killed five people?"

Silence fell over the room. Peter searched his mind desperately for an explanation. He didn't have one, not a good one at least. He couldn't say that he had been trying to save his own skin, because that would be admitting too much. "It- it was an accident." Peter hated how his voice shook. "The curse had me so confused that I didn't even realize where I was, let alone what I was doing."

It was a weak argument, but he hoped that it was enough to cause the Wizengamot to doubt.

The Minister didn't look completely convinced but nodded anyway. "Anything else you would like to say, Pettigrew?" When Peter shook his head, he continued. "Very well. Our first witness is James Potter. Mr. Potter, will you please step forward?"

_No. This can't be happening. _Fear sliced its way through Peter. James couldn't be testifying. He couldn't. Suddenly, he saw his chances of walking away from this trial a free man diminishing.

_My only hope is to act like a sniveling idiot. To beg him to understand that it wasn't me._

But as James stepped down to stand before the Wizengamot, Peter saw the hard expression on his face and realized that it wasn't going to be easy.

"Mr. Potter, could you please describe why you are testifying in this case?"

James nodded, not sparing a glance at Peter. "I've known Peter since I was eleven. I shared a dorm with him for seven years at Hogwarts. He was one of my best friends."

"Was?"

"Yes. 'Was.'"

"What changed that?"

"Well, the fact that Peter betrayed my wife and me to Voldemort changed that."

Gasps rang throughout the Wizengamot at the audacity of James to say the Dark Lord's name. Peter flinched as he heard it.

"How do you know it was him?" The Minister asked.

"Because we chose Peter to be our Secret Keeper when we went into hiding using the Fidelius Charm."

"Could you please explain to the Wizengamot what the Fidelius Charm does?"

"It allows a location to be hidden. Only the Secret Keeper and those he shares the secret with can find that location. Peter was our Secret Keeper and he shared that information with Voldemort."

"I was under the Imperius Curse," Peter dared to say. This was his only hope of freedom. He prayed that it would be enough.

"No, you weren't," James said, finally turning to him with fire in his eyes. "That's the thing about the Fidelius Charm. The location can only be revealed by the Secret Keeper willingly. The Secret Keeper can't be tricked or forced. You _willingly _told Voldemort where we were and _willingly _betrayed us!"

"Mr. Potter-" The Minister tried to cut in, but Peter interrupted.

"I didn't know what I was doing, James. It wasn't my fault!" Peter was growing frantic. He couldn't fail; he couldn't. He couldn't go to prison.

"Don't give me that crap!"

"But it's true! I would never-"

"I'm not interested in more of your lies, Peter! What I want to know is why. Why did you betray our friendship?"

Anger rushed through Peter at the word "friendship," but he battled to keep it under control. "I didn't-"

"Why, Peter?!"

"Why do you think?!" Peter shouted before he knew what he was doing. "I didn't betray our friendship because our 'friendship' never meant anything to you! I wasn't your friend; I was your lackey! I was the poor little boy who followed you around like a sad, lost puppy. You used me for entertainment. For a punching bag. But I was never anything special to you."

"You were my friend. I would have died for you!" James' face was a mix of anger and sadness. It almost touched Peter, almost caused him to think before he said anything else. But then the anger rose within him again, and he couldn't stop the words that were flowing out of his mouth.

"No. You would have died for Sirius definitely. Probably for Remus too. But not for me. Because you never thought me worthy of that."

"And you think Voldemort thought you were worthy? That Voldemort though more highly of you than we did?"

"No. But he offered me protection that you didn't!"

The second the words left Peter's mouth, he realized his mistake. For a few minutes, the scene around him had fallen away; it had been as if he and James were the only ones in the room. But they weren't. Because they were still in front of the Wizengamot. And the group of people who would be deciding his fate had just heard his confession.

A frenzied buzz echoed throughout the room as the Wizengamot talked. The Minister pounded the gavel three times before order was restored. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. I believe we've heard enough."

Peter looked at James, whose face was a hard mask.

"Please, James. Don't let them do this," Peter whispered pleadingly.

"You betrayed us, Peter. All of us." James shook his head. "And for the record, we would have protected you. No matter what. But not now. Not anymore." With that, James turned and climbed the stairs back to his seat.

Peter saw them now. Lily was crying into her hands. Remus looked disappointed. And Sirius looked furious, like he was going to charge down the stairs and strangle Peter at any second. But he had Harry in his arms, and Peter knew that the child's presence would keep Sirius in his seat.

"Peter Pettigrew," the Minister's voice drew Peter's gaze back to the front. "You have just admitted before this council that you went to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for protection willingly."

"No, I-" Peter began but the Minister cut him off.

"Your story changed when Mr. Potter came down, and you revealed your motive. This has caused me to question what you have said. If you had truly been under the Imperius Curse, we could not in good conscience punish you. However, your last statement to Mr. Potter contradicts your Imperius claims, causing me to believe that you were under He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's command of your own volition. Furthermore, there is still the matter of the incident in Diagon Alley. Five lives were lost that day, Pettigrew. Five innocent lives. And with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's defeat occurring the day before, it would be impossible for you to still be controlled by him. Even if you were simply disoriented, that is still no excuse for the damage that you have caused. However, it is my opinion that disorientation was not a factor. If you willingly betrayed your former friends, it is not too far of a jump to think that you would go to any length to avoid capture and save yourself. Now, before the Wizengamot votes, is there anything that you would like to add, Pettigrew?"

By this time, Peter was shaking and sweating uncontrollably. If he had just stuck with his plan, everything would have been fine. But instead, he had allowed himself to get riled up, to react to James. And he had made a fatal mistake. His argument was lost. All he could do was shake his head.

"Very well," the Minister's voice rang out, "all in favor of a guilty sentence for Peter Pettigrew, raise your hand."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you for reading!

I own nothing.

"We sentence you, Peter Pettigrew, to life in Azkaban Prison."

The Minister's voice echoed throughout the room. Lily's face was buried in her hands, but she could hear Peter's protests.

"Please! No! Please, have mercy!" Peter cried out as Aurors stood him up and led him out of the room.

The trial had been just as bad as she had feared. Lily had hardly recognized Peter. He was gaunt and pale; his wide eyes showed his fear. His voice had been higher than she had ever heard it before. When Peter had claimed to be under the Imperius Curse, Sirius had started to stand up angrily. But Remus had grabbed him and forced him back down into his seat.

"Here. Hold Harry," Lily had said, knowing that Sirius would stay where he was if Harry was in his lap.

When James had gone down to testify, Lily's heart had been racing. With each step, Lily had been able to see James' anger growing. He had been unable to keep all of his anger in check while confronting Peter, but that anger had finally broken through Peter's weak stories.

But what the shorter man had said had broken Lily's heart. James had always been completely loyal to his friends. He would rather be hurt himself than see any of his friends hurt. So to hear Peter say that he had never felt that same loyalty would tear James apart.

Lily felt James' arms slide around her as the Minister called for order. She tried to dry her tears, because if she felt this much pain, she knew her husband was feeling far worse. She had to get control of her emotions before leaving.

But instead of dismissing the crowd, the Minister called for the next trial to begin. "Aurors, please bring in the prisoners Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange and Bartemius Crouch, Jr."

Lily gasped. These were the people that had tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom. Their trial was next? Lily started crying again as she watched the four Death Eaters being brought into the room. Usually she was not this emotional, but this day was wearing on her.

"I'm going to take Lily back," James said to Sirius and Remus, leaning around Lily.

"Okay," Sirius said, a stubborn look on his face. "I'm staying." He handed Harry to Lily.

Remus stared at Sirius' profile before nodding. "I'm staying too."

"Moony, are you-"

"Prongs?"

"Yeah, Moony?"

"Shut up." Remus smirked. "Take Lily and Harry and go. We'll fill you in on what happens."

Lily was incredibly grateful for her husband and their friends. She wanted to see the four Death Eaters brought to justice. They hadn't killed the Longbottoms, but they had still stolen their lives away from them and their son. But Lily didn't think she could handle facing them today. Not after Peter's trial.

So Lily gladly walked out of the Ministry with James and apparated back to the safe house.

* * *

Lily wondered how long the second trial would last. Peter's trial had seemed to go on forever, but in actuality, it had only lasted about half an hour. However, it was nearing two o'clock now, and Sirius and Remus were still not back.

Lily sat in her husband's arms, waiting for their friends to return. She had cried some more once Harry had gone down for his nap, and James had even cried a bit. She had been right in thinking that Peter's lack of loyalty and trust had hurt him. But now both their eyes were dry.

The waiting was painful.

And then they heard the unmistakable _pop_ of apparition. James and Lily both rose to their feet, but before they made it to the front door, it opened and Sirius rushed inside. Lily was concerned to see that he was gagging until she saw Remus vomiting near the front door.

Sirius could face werewolf injuries without blinking an eye. He was the king of disgusting pranks. And yet, he had the worst gag reflex of anyone that Lily had ever known. If he heard or smelled or, Merlin forbid, saw someone being sick, he started gagging. It was a wonder that he had survived his godson's first year of life without puking all over him.

Lily stepped aside as James helped Remus through the front door. Obviously, the werewolf should have listened to them about going to the trial. Besides vomiting, his eyes were glassy and he was sweating, indicating that his fever was rising. But there was still a stubborn, albeit a bit ashamed, look on his pale face.

"Sorry," he whispered as he collapsed on the couch. "I guess the full moon and apparition don't really mix."

James sat down next to him. "Don't worry about it, mate. You okay?"

Remus nodded weakly. "All right, Padfoot?"

Lily hadn't noticed Sirius enter the room until he passed by her with a cup of water, which he handed to Remus. "Yeah, you know how I am. Didn't I warn you against upchucking, though?" Sirius settled onto the other side of Remus.

"Well," Remus said thoughtfully, "you warned me against upchucking during the trial. But you didn't say anything about after the trial."

James laughed. "He has a point, Pads."

The three Marauders shared a strained smile.

"What happened after we left?" Lily asked as she sat down. The smiles fell away.

"Life in Azkaban. Same as Wormtail," Sirius said shortly. He looked away and Lily could tell that he didn't want to talk about it.

"What took so long?" James asked quietly.

Remus shook his head. "There was a lot of evidence against them about… well, other crimes they'd been a part of. Trust me, you don't want the details." He shuddered, and Lily knew that it truly had been bad.

"Are you all right, Padfoot?" James asked quietly. Lily could see the muscles in Sirius' jaw twitching. He was trying to gain control of his anger, but she could tell that it wasn't going well.

Sirius nodded, but when James put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped up. He looked ready to burst, but as he opened his mouth, Harry started crying. Sirius' anger seemed to dissipate.

"I'll go get him," Sirius said quietly.

"No, I'll do it, Sirius," Lily said, standing. Sirius threw her a look.

"He's my godson, Evans. I think I can be trusted to lift him out of a crib and carry him downstairs," he said with a smirk. Lily returned the smirk with one of her own.

"He probably needs to be changed, Black. You want to do that?" She had been trying to get Sirius to change Harry ever since the boy had been born, with little luck. It didn't help matters that one of Sirius' first experiences with Harry had included James gagging over a dirty diaper. It had taken Lily several minutes to stop laughing after seeing her husband and his best friend both gagging while Harry lay on the changing table.

Sirius' eyes widened quickly. "All right, Evans. You can go get him."

Lily chuckled as she moved upstairs and into Harry's room. The boy's cries quieted as she lifted him into her arms and held him close. She had never experienced anything as amazing as being a mother. She hadn't realized that she could love another person so much. When she had first heard about the prophecy, a pang of fear had shot through her chest, and she had vowed to do anything and everything she could to protect her baby.

"Mummy loves you so much, Harry," Lily whispered as she changed her son. The boy gave her a smile that warmed her.

After finishing, she lifted him and took him back to the sitting room. She smiled at the sight of the Marauders. James and Sirius had convinced Remus to lie down on the couch, a blanket covering him. Sirius sat on the floor by his feet, and James sat in a nearby chair.

Sirius smiled when he saw Harry and turned into his Animagus form. He barked and ran towards Lily.

Harry clapped his hands. "Pa'foo! Pa'foo!" Lily laughed and set her son on the floor. The boy immediately grabbed onto Padfoot's fur and laughed. Her son absolutely loved spending time with Sirius, especially when he was a dog.

Lily went over and sat on James' lap. "Is Sirius all right?" she whispered in his ear. When James nodded, she continued. "And Remus?"  
James snorted softly and whispered. "He is now. He tried to stand and passed out. Padfoot had to catch him 'mid-swoon.'" He laughed, his voice rising above a whisper. "Did you know that some Muggle tried to neuter Padfoot? Took him to a Muggle animal-healer-person to have it done. He had to bite the healer's hand and run like mad out of there."

It took Lily a second to realize that Remus had told James the story that Sirius had obviously wanted to stay secret. The mental image of what James had just said filled her head and she started laughing hysterically. She noticed that James and Remus were laughing too. Sirius, on the other hand, was growling at Remus.

"You'll get over it, Padfoot," Remus said between chuckles, causing Sirius to growl even louder.

"Pa'foo!" Harry exclaimed, upset that the dog's attention was diverted from him. Sirius stopped growling and turned towards the baby. He licked his face, chin to hair. Lily hated when he did that, but Harry thought it was hysterical.

Her baby fell on his back and Padfoot stood over him, nuzzling and licking her face. Warmth spread through Lily. She had her favorite people in the world surrounding her; she had never been happier.

* * *

Dinner was light that night. Nobody felt much like eating, especially Remus. He just sat there, picking at his food. As the evening progressed, he was getting paler and shakier. Lily's heart clenched, wishing she could do something. But she knew from experience that she couldn't do anything.

"So," Sirius began, "where are we going tonight?" He and James looked at Remus, who paused for a second before laying down his fork.

"I asked Dumbledore if I could use the Shrieking Shack, so I'll be going there," Remus said, not quite meeting the others' gazes.

James raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean 'I'? Padfoot and I are coming with you."

Remus sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Lily chuckled to herself. This wasn't the first time that she had seen Remus try to refuse help from the others. It had never worked in his favor before, and she doubted that it would this time either.

"And why not?" James asked, obviously deciding to humor Remus for the moment.

"Because it will probably be a bad one."

"We can handle it."

"Yeah, it's not like we haven't handled bad transformations before. Besides, it would be good for Prongs and Padfoot to work off some of this excess anger," Sirius said. He was smirking, but Lily could tell that there was a lot of truth behind his words.

"I don't want you to get hurt. Between this whole mess with Peter and this being my first transformation back from the pack… I just don't know how violent I will be." Remus' words were quiet. He had always hated talking about his transformations, especially around Lily. She had never cared about his condition and had tried to show him that time after time, but he was still self-conscious.

"Moony," James said, his voice taking on the authoritative tone that he had adopted as Head Boy, "we became Animagi for this purpose. And when we first transformed, we promised you that, to the best of our ability, we would never let you go through another full moon alone. We haven't done a very good job of that lately, but tonight, we are going to keep that promise. Whether you like it or not."

Remus looked between his two Animagi friends before sighing in defeat. "Fine. We'll be going to- well, if you're with me, we could go to the Forbidden Forest."

James and Sirius shared a triumphant smile before James stood and said that he wanted to gather some stuff that they might need.

Half an hour later, the three Marauders stood in the sitting room. Lily held Harry while they debated.

"I don't see why we can't apparate all together."

"Padfoot, the last time you and Moony apparated together, both of you ended up puking. I'm just saying that Moony and I should go first and you should come a few minutes later."

Sirius sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine."

Remus and James shared an amused look. Then, James moved forward to kiss Lily and Harry.

"Be careful, love," Lily whispered, her lips moving against her husband's.

"Of course," James responded. "I love you."

"Love you too."

They shared a smile before Lily turned to Remus, who was looking worse by the minute. "Be careful, Remus."

"I'll try," Remus said and kissed her cheek. He and James moved outside.

Lily watched through the window until they apparated before turning back to Sirius. He was standing there with an odd look on his face, and she was suddenly worried. "What's wrong?"

"Do you think-" Sirius took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you think that this mess with Wormtail is my fault?"

Lily gasped in surprise. "Sirius-"

"I know I was mean to him. Maybe that drove him to do this. I mean, you heard him today. He didn't feel like we were his friends. Maybe that was my fault."

Lily was taken aback by Sirius' words. She wasn't used to him thinking so critically about a situation. And she could see just how much he was bothered at the thought that his actions were the cause of Peter's betrayal.

"Sirius," Lily began, placing her hand on his arm, "I'm not going to deny that the way you treated Peter might have had something to do with his feeling alienated. But whatever you might have done, he is responsible for his own actions. He is the one who chose to betray us."

Sirius nodded, not looking completely convinced.

"This isn't your fault, Sirius."

He smiled tightly. "Thanks, Lils. I guess I'd better go, huh?"

Lily nodded and kissed his cheek. "Be careful. And make sure that nothing happens to Remus, okay?"

"Padfoot and Prongs know how to keep him in check, Lils," Sirius said, his confidence returning along with his cocky smile. Lily laughed as Sirius walked out the door.

She had been hoping that after Peter's trial, things could go back to the way they used to be. She craved the normalcy that she had experienced before becoming involved in the war. But she now realized that that might never happen. The war had changed them, and they couldn't go back to their old selves. They would never be the same. But perhaps, with time, they could heal, move past the hurt that Peter had caused. Perhaps, with time, they could establish a new normal.

* * *

Author's Note 2.0: Thank you again for reading. While this is the end of this particular story, it is not the end of the Marauders' story. I have plans to write at least three more stories about the Marauders' lives. These will mostly be before Harry goes to Hogwarts and will include Harry.

Up next: "A New Normal"

"He got out of his bed, hoping to go downstairs to get a hangover potion when he noticed the white bandage taped to a certain part of his body. And he froze._" _


End file.
